Quick Job Search Guide 8 / RESUME WRITING It’s no secret that the resume is an important tool in the job search process. It can be useful in helping you obtain interviews for competitive part-time, summer, or internship positions. Below are some suggestions to make it easier to put your resume together. Education List colleges, with city/state, in reverse chronological order. Include graduation date (or expected date), major, minor/concentration, degree(s), honors, and academic accomplishments. Grade point average is optional, but you should include it if it is a 3.0 or over. Education should be placed toward the beginning of your resume if you are a recent graduate. As your experience broadens, your education section should move towards the bottom of your resume and include only essential information (such as college, degree, major, date of graduation). RESUME CRITIQUE The Career Center offers a resume critique service to students and alumni. E-mail your resume to [email protected] or drop it off at the Career Center. Your resume will be critiqued within 24 – 48 hours. RESUME BUILDER Resume Builder is an interactive program available through RaptorLink, which will help you design and format a professional looking resume. Students can choose from a variety of targeted resume templates that best showcase their qualifications and experiences. THE BASICS Target your resume. Research the field you are entering, know the key qualifications and skills for the position and include them in your resume. Use action verbs to describe your accomplishments and job responsibilities. Unless you are a traditional freshman or sophomore, do not list high school information. Give your resume visual appeal – plenty of white space, use of bold facing, attractive fonts. Bullet format vs. large paragraphs will invite people to read your resume. Use 8 ½ x 11 inch paper and 10 to 12 point font size. One page is all you need and all anyone wants to read! Contact Information Your name, address, one phone number and e-mail address appear at the top of your resume. Objective An objective tells the employer what your target job is or what skills you have to offer. Most employers prefer an objective, but there can be situations where it is best to omit the objective. If you have more than one objective, it is recommended to create more than one resume. A Good Objective: is concise and to the point; states your immediate career goals and skills you possess which relate to the job; has a direct relationship to the employer’s needs; never uses “I” or “me” RESUME WRITING